Signs Of The Times
by heathersinclair1
Summary: In her seventh year, Severus Snape is the new Headmaster of Hogwarts. Unbeknownst to the Professor, Heather Sinclair is carrying his unexpected child. She begs for an abortion from the Potions Master, but Severus will not hear of it. Things take a turn for the worst when Heather discovers Severus is aiding Voldemort.
1. Chapter 1

"The Headmaster wishes to see you, Sinclair." Alecto Carrow announced to the class. My heart pounded in my chest as I dreadfully stood. As soon as I left the room, there were screams from the students inside. I knew them well. The Carrows regularly tortured us.

The corridors seemed long and narrow as my heavy steps were taken bringing me closer to him. This was no way to bring a child into the world. Especially now when everything revolved around darkness and death. It was December of my seventh year at Hogwarts. I was too young to become a mother at 16. He would absolutely kill me. Not to mention our relationship was a drunken one night stand.

Once I reached the office of the beloved former Headmaster, I was in utter terror. The awful things he would tell me. He would want an abortion, I just knew it.

I barged in without a knock. Embellished in black splendor, his back was to me as he faced out toward a ceiling to floor window. With a sigh, Severus turned to see me. "Miss Sinclair, you know why you are here."

"I know why I have come." I retorted.

"Sit down!" He thundered, pointing to the chair in front of his desk.

I flinched and sat as quickly as I could.

"Abandon the discourtesy, Miss Sinclair. Where...is...Harry...Potter?" Snape demanded.

"I don't know where he is! Why don't you impose your stupid interrogation on someone who actually knows him?!" I screamed back.

Severus sighed. "Miss Sinclair, you seem frightful of me. This is unlike the quiet, shy student I recall from your first year."

"Recall that you fucked me. I'm pregnant. That's why I came, not to be bombarded with mindless inquiries about the whereabouts of Harry Potter."

If it were possible, his face was drained of all color in seconds. The Potions Master heaved a deep sigh and looked back out the large window. "I see."

"Then you know it must be aborted." I insisted. "If anyone knows about this, our lives are over. Not to mention how much danger I will be in. I'd have to disappear."

Severus was in front of me before I knew it. "Not my child."


	2. Chapter 2

"But what if I wanted one?" I protested. "I'm too young to be a mother. Too inexperienced."

The Headmaster shot me a glare. "Your opinion on the matter is irrelevant. I am the father and I will choose his fate!"

"You can't tell me what to do with my baby." I snapped. I got up and turned to leave the room. "You're only after Harry to kill him. That's all every single one of you is, a murderer. No different than Voldemort."

"You dare speak his name? Do not make judgements of affairs you know nothing about, Miss Sinclair." Severus retorted. "My child will be born. I shall see to that personally."

"Fuck you, sir." I said as I opened the door.

Severus waved his wand and the door slammed back shut. "I suppose you still lack respect for your superiors, Miss Sinclair. You are not finished. Do you mean to tell me you know nothing of Potter's whereabouts?"

"I don't." I told him.

Severus took a deep breath and sighed it from his lungs. "Sit back down."

"For what?"

"Must I drag you myself?" He threatened.

I shrugged and sat down.

Severus took out a vial from his robes. The fluid inside was clear. He handed it to me. "Drink." The command was not a request.

I drank the liquid and opened my mouth to show him I swallowed the contents.

"Now, Miss Sinclair." Severus began. "What is your name and how old are you?"

"My name is Heather Sinclair and I am seventeen years old." I answered in surprise.

Severus smirked. He knew what he was doing. Veritaserum, huh?

"Are you truly pregnant, Miss Sinclair?" He continued. "And if so, am I truly the father of your child?"

"Yes, I am pregnant and you are the father."

"Tell me, Miss Sinclair." The dark Professor circled my chair. "Where is Harry Potter?"

"I don't know." I answered automatically. My lips were moving as if under a spell.

Severus breathed a sigh. "Very well. You truly do not know. You may go, Miss Sinclair."

I got up and went to open the door before he interjected.

"And Miss Sinclair-"

I turned back.

Severus locked eyes with me in an intense gaze. "I will be watching you closely. No harm will come to you or our child."

I nodded and hurriedly opened the door and left to be escorted back to class by Alecto.

Black eyes lingered on the spot where I stood. A dramatic sigh was released from his lungs as Severus turned back to the dreary large window.


	3. Chapter 3

Christmas was soon upon us and it wasn't the same as in past years.

That morning at the feast in the Great Hall, Severus was seated in the Headmaster's place at the High Table.

He looked down the long rows out to the Gryffindor table where I was seated.

Our eyes connected for several moments as I watched his shoulders rise and fall as he sighed deeply from his lungs.

Severus spoke to a few of the Death Eaters seated around him before gazing back at me intensely. I saw him converse with Alecto quickly. He sighed again and glanced back at me.

Severus then stood, gracefully walking out down the middle aisle where I was seated at the end.

He shot me a piercing look as he brushed my shoulder. Black robes whisked by me in a lovely ebony array as Severus continued down the aisle out of the magnificent dining room.

After he left, the Carrows approached my table.

"Sinclair, the Headmaster would like a word with you." Alecto spat at me, pulling me up out of my chair before I had any chance to react.

I was hauled from the Great Hall to the Headmaster's office by Alecto, the door was opened and I was thrown into the room.

Alecto cackled and closed the door back behind her, leaving me alone once again with Severus.

I heard a heavy sigh from the window. My eyes were then directed to the Potions Master, who faced away from me.

"I must apologize, Miss Sinclair." He drawled out. "It is no way to spend a holiday for a girl of your..." A long pause loomed in the air before Severus turned to look at me. "...poise."

"What would you know about that?" I snapped back at him. "You're just as cruel as they are. I don't trust you for a second!"

"Perhaps if you would rest your repulsive tongue instead of exercising it, you would realize what I am referring to, Miss Sinclair." Obsidian orbs shot me a dark glare.

Sufficed to say, I shut my mouth.

Severus sighed loudly, eyes still locked on me. "Now..." He progressed. "Before I was so insolently interrupted, I have something to show you."

Severus walked across the room to the wall. He whispered an incantation and a small opening appeared. Inside was a black and green box tied with a green ribbon, nothing fancy. The dark Professor brought it over to me and placed it in my palm.

"What's this?" I asked in surprise.

His face was expressionless. "Open it."

I rolled my eyes. "Fine..."

I pulled the ribbon off and lifted off the top of the box. I gasped in shock at the contents. There was a ring. An emerald surrounded by tiny diamonds with a snake wrapped around the gems.

I looked up at Severus in awe. "Is this what I think it is?"

Severus inhaled deeply and sighed slowly from his lungs. "It is an engagement ring. I have not always said the most suitable things or performed the most noble acts."

He paused, giving me a look I'd never seen from him. It was almost too intense to handle. "Please, allow me this great honor. For once in my life, I wish to achieve something properly."

"I can't take this, sir." I refused politely.

Black eyes watched me curiously. Then as soon as I spoke those five denying words, it was as if I shattered his whole world.

"Severus." He breathed out. "Please call me Severus, Heather."

"I'm just not ready for this yet. I mean, how can I put you in this position? You don't love me. And I don't want you to marry someone you don't love!" I pointed out.

I was a complete nervous wreck. I didn't want to hurt Severus but at the same time I didn't want us to both do something we'd regret in the future.

"On the contrary, Heather..." Severus countered. "I do love you."

"You're only doing this because of the child." I said defensively. "Because you're his father, right? I don't think it's possible for you of all people to love."

"I am afraid you are entirely mistaken in this instance." He said softly, eyeing me carefully.

"The answer is no, Headmaster." I said calmly.

There was an lengthy, unsettling silence before Severus cut it with a dramatic sigh. The breath was full of anguish as it blew from his lungs. "Very well, Heather. As you wish. You may go."

I set the box down on his desk as I started for the door. Severus moved back to the large window, his back to me.

I opened the door and left the room. Alecto and another Death Eater escorted me to my dorm.

In his office, Severus glanced out of the window, reflecting on the events of the day.


End file.
